Bottle Variance
Bottle Variance: A conondrum
This Christmas, I experienced Bottle Variance for the first time. It was the strangest thing. We opened 2 Azelia Barolo Margheria 2004, but they tasted like two completely different wines. Both were good: there was nothing wrong with either of the wines, but when we were blind tasting, no one guessed they were the same wine, or even the same vintage.
Now, this can happen to any wine maker, any wine at any time. Remember, these are products of nature, so there is very little control over the end products. There is also the topic of storage: were they stored at the same place, at the same temperature? The corks, are they the same? Wine makers tend to experiment with different corks, which then could make the bottles act differently. There are so many factors that can affect the wine, which is why bottle variance occurs.
Nonetheless, Azelia makes amazing wines and both these wines were incredible! If you want to know more about Azelia, you can check out their website.
Sixteen years in Piemonte, and counting
- WSET Level 2 Certified
- Traveling to Piemonte every year since 2011
- Hands-on summers at Vietti and Altare in Barolo
- Hosting Piemontegirl Tastings in Oslo and Piemontegirl Tours in Piemonte